looking for a sponsor! Help!

[SS minnow]

IM only 17 but fishing takes over my life every weekend and even somedays after school and idk what i would do with out it!! I have property in eastern wa on potholes resivoir and im there pretty much every weekend where i bass and wallleye fish my heart out ! but when im not ther im at home fishing for bass,stealhead,and salmon on our local rivers and lakes wich i have down to science......... i would apreciate any help i could get getting a sponsor.. my goal is to be that one kid that shines out and show people that not all teenagers are badd kids i wanna be the young adult that older experianced bass anglers look out for cuz they know i mean bizness!!!

[The Quadfather]

In a word....
Nickbarrfishing.com

Check this guy out, he has forged the path for you.

[natetreat]

Fish tournaments, build yourself a website. Put together a sponsorship letter, and send it to the companies that you would like to get discounts for. Build a solid reputation, be professional and approach the sport like you would a job. You need to provide something to the companies that they need, they're not just there to hand out free gear. Work on your spelling and punctuation, your online reputation is just as important as your ability to fish. There is a lot of competition in the fishing industry, and to succeed you need to work hard. Every tourney that is out there, you should be fishing. Most importantly, stay in school. A good education will help you succeed in life, especially in the realm of business and fishing politics.

[Amx]

Be sure to go to the Aaron Martin clinic at Limit Out on July 13th.Checkout the flyer in Russ's thread.

http://washingtonlakes.com/forum/viewto ... 13&t=17975" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[WCCT]

As a former tackle business owner and a person who has been sponsored by several companies, I would say the most important thing is to focus on education first. Do good in school and then try to go to college and major in some sort of degree that would be helpful, such as marketing, business etc. Grammar and spelling are a big deal as well. Always treat everthing you post online as though it is going to be read by a potential sponsor. I can't stress this enough! Be very knowledgable about the products that you are trying to promote. I can't count the number of sponsorship requests I received over the years from people obviosly just looking for free product. Trust me, we can tell the difference. I recommend only going after potential sponsors, who's products you use a lot and have the most confidence in. Do not be in a rush to get as many sponsor deals as you can. These companies need to know what seperates you from the 100's or 1000's of other guys and gals wanting the same thing. You also have to be willing to donate your time to promote the company that takes a gamble on you. This can be through trade show's, articles, or just online boards. Only a very small % of anglers out there actually make a good living fishing. Not saying you can't, because you can. It is just going to take a lot of hard work on your part. I love to see young anglers with the passion you have! I wish you the best of luck!

[SS minnow]

It's not even the fact of getting free stuff it's more the fact of promoting a lure company to make them look really good by like stickers on my boat or a custom motor paint job and stickers for the truck and being apart of somthin to show people tea age bass anglers arnt a joke

[Steelheadin360]

#1 Work on your grammar, no sponsor wants to to have someone who cant spell and sound somewhat professional
#2 Enter every tournament and derby that you can
#3 Even before you are sponsored use their stuff and show people that you are catching fish with it.

Any person can slap a sticker on their boat or truck, having everyone know your name first is something important, Your rep is everything to a sponsor. Just because you say you can whoop everyones "bass" doesn't mean anything to company unless your holding up some fatties and a check for winning something.

I have a company that backs me for my Kokanee fishing and derbys. I get discounts, get to try new gear, and I get freebies once and a while. But I spent ALOT of money buying gear from them and constantly put pictures of me catching big fish and alot of fish using their gear. People see that and think well crap if he is catching them with that it must work. Yes i have the stickers and clothes with the company logo on them but I do that to promote the company because they have helped me. Not to just look good on the water. The only reason I have been promoted to Pro-Staff from this company is because people go to him and say "Zack said this works" That puts money in his pocket and thats what any sponsor wants.

If your not to the point where people want you to come in and run seminars on bass fishing then you need to get more professional. You need to be that angler other people want to be

[SS minnow]

You couldn't of put it any better stealheadin360 I know it takes lots of work and I have the knowledge to do all that stuff but being 17 years old ! It's really hard to get my name known and that's what I'm hoping someone could help me with and get me started in the right direction !hahahhaah yah about the grammer I can spell I just choose to short type cuz its quicker I learned it from fishing when people are bothering me when I'm trying to fish I short text haha

[Amx]

#1 turn off your phone when fishing so you won't have to answer it and so won't have to 'short type'.

#2 fish fish fish some more.

#3 basically the only way people of any age get sponsors is to do good in tournies, then look for sponsors. Takes LOTS of time/years, ok sometimes only a year or 2 for teens as some companies WANT the young people to use and show their products to other young people so the companies have a long lasting customer base.